Apply to be successful

By Kopano Moeketsi

You are excited. The end of the year is approaching. Your final exams in University are here. The only problem you are facing is applying for a job, you have never applied for a job and you definitely do not know where to start looking. Anthony Ramakgale the Deputy Director at the Department of Housing who has been work for the DOH for eight years, agrees that leaving University and having to start looking for a job is difficult, and might seem easy when you are in University and you see people getting jobs every day.

A dream job is what everyone wants.  You might have an idea of the career path you would like to follow, but applying for that job might be hard, as you might not know which websites to visit or which newspapers to start looking for jobs from. Anthony warns third year students to start looking for jobs from the beginning of the year, to have an idea on which companies has more occupation options, not forgetting research, and more research.

South Africa has the highest unemployment rate. Jobs are very scarce in South Africa. Third year student should not worry, there is hope! Hope on where to start looking for jobs and what to do in order to interest some companies in looking at you as a candidate.  Here are a few tips:

1.    Draft a competitive CV: Anthony encourages third year students to draft a competitive CV which will respond to the labour market demands. This means that the CV should meet the curriculum demands for the kind of job you want. You need to do research on how to have a competitive CV that will catch people’s eyes, for them to call you for an interview. Use the research to create an interesting competitive CV that will make the interviewees to meet you for an interview.
2. Register your CV: Register your CV with a reputable recruitment agencies which would assist you to get you a jobs that meet your profile/ CV. Some companies such as Eskom provide a site where people who are interested in the company can leave their CV’s on the site. Other websites include Career24.com, where companies can view your CV
3.   Research and apply for all jobs:  Research and apply for all the jobs on the internet and newspapers. Says Anthony. Anthony says that by applying for all the jobs on the internet, you might be asked to come for an interview with one of the companies you have applied for.
4.   Volunteer your services: Volunteering your services will assist you to have job experiences, while you are still in University, apply for volunteer work to gain knowledge and experience. According to helpguide.com, the benefits of volunteering are: it helps you make new friends and contacts, increases your social and relationships. Volunteering increases self-confidence, and volunteering also combats depression 
5.  Prepare properly: Prepare yourself in advance before the interview. You need to do research before you go for your interview. According to Forbes.com, you need to Google the company you are interviewing with and read some of the articles that pop, study the company’s website, know the company’s mission, its product and service.Prepare yourself before you go on your interview. Third year students should be prepared on how the working environments is different from University. Once you step out of University, this is where you will recognise how the working environment is different from University.